Granada, Spain

Note: Published 21.Feb, backdated to be in chronological order.
GPS of Camping Cubillas: 37.26892N 3.68057W

Somewhere in my ignorance on all things related to geography, my mind decided Spain is a vast flat land with lots of sandy beaches. Boy has this trip been an eye opening education!

Heading away from Cabo de Gata, I was feeling uncertain as to our ability to fit into any campsites near Granada. We had heard we simply must visit Granada, specifically AlHambra. Conversely, a fellow camper expressd concern that we probably wouldn't fit in any of the nearby campgrounds.

Driving over yet another mountain pass, we enjoyed the beautiful colors of the red rock and striking plateaus. We passed several small villages and were in awe at the fact that many buildings and houses near Gaudix are built right into the mountain! Facias are stucco and butt right up next to the mountain wall. The structures under construction looked simply like caves; but then we'd see a neighboring facade that looked like new stucco construction. Very cool. I'd imagine very energy efficient as well.

Back to the story - we arrived at Camping Cubillas to find an all but abandoned campsite (that charges 20 EURO/night!). There were two other campers, so we went for it. Being the "off-season" we were able to fit - during high season, there would have been no way. We parked on one of the access roads to the normal pitches. Absolutely nothing around, at least in walking/biking distance. There's a resevoir nearby, though you can't access it from the campground. The back half of the campground is setup for what we think is tent camping, in a "Blair-Witch" sort of way. Trees, closely spaced together and all but dead with electrical cords running up high. The ground is no where near even and, well, it was just a little spooky.

Next moring, we jumped on the bus (note the well signposted bus stop in the picture) to Granada. Fortunately, this bus was only 10-minutes late. We had a stroller to help with Sophia and the bus that showed up was a mini-bus. Oh well. You make it work. (Side note: in previous blog posts, I've failed to mention the appearance of "working women" on roads such as this - they sit on chairs, cell phones in hand - we've noticed them primarily on weekeneds... suffice it to say, I always feel a little awkward, standing on an unmarked corner, kids in tow, waiting for a bus.)

Dropped off at the very busy bus station, we struggled to find where to go next. Fortunately a lady at the tourist booking center was kind enough to give me general directions: take bus 33 or bus 3 to "Cathedral." We jumped on the 33, not knowing where to get off. Fortunately it was a very busy bus and stopped at every bus stop. 9 stops later, we arrived at the "Cathedral."

First stop: The Cathedral, dating from 1523. This is one of the most beautiful Cathedrals we've visisted to date. Very ornate but not in such a gaudy manner to be overwhelming. Given that noon services were in session, we cut our visit short.

We wandered the town center a bit. Listening to the soft music from the street musicians and exploring the narrow side alleys. Such a beautiful city and filled with simply fantastic buildings. Though the sidewalks are most unkind to strollers - most are made up of rock patterns. To add to the bouncy ride, there are steps everywhere. We wound up convincing Sophia to walk a good portion (which she needs to do anyway... just she didn't sleep well the night before, leaving us to deal with a crying fit every few minutes).

Glimpse of Granada:

Typical sidewalk in Granada:

After a quick lunch in front of what appears to be the judicial building, we started the steep but easy hike up to AlHambra. We made only one mistake - not stopping at the tourist office first.

Wandered for probably an hour, looking at the grounds, the beautiful buildings and enjoying the scenery. Imagine our surprise to see a "Hotel America" just outside the convent. As we saw a group of people rally around the palace signs, we finally realized you need tickets to get in to the Generalife, Palace and Fortress. They don't sell tickets inside AlHambra. You have to walk about a kilometer down hill to the "Entrance Pavillion" by the parking lot to purchase tickets. Tickets are 12 EURO each (kids under 12 are free) and limit you to a 4-hour visit on the grounds with only a 30-minute block to enter the palace. Once you are "in" an area, you can stay until the park closes; but you can only enter the restricted areas according to the time slots on your ticket. What's another 1km?

Entrance at top of hill:

View from top:

Are we in the right country?

Tickets in hand, we walked back up. Our tickets allowed us entrance starting at 2:30. We enjoyed a nice snack after being denied early entrance to the Generalife, biding our time for 15-minutes.

Generalife is an extensive network of terraced gardens, affording views of the palace and fortress. Dan got quite the work out, hefting Sophia + stroller up and down the many steps. In spite of being the off-season, we quite enjoyed the marvelous detailing that goes in to the design and maintenance of these gardens. Water features rule the landscape and cozy alcoves make you want to sit down with a good book to while away the day.

A peek through a manicured hedge:

View from the top of the terrace:

Water stairwell:

More waiting was in order to enter the palace. You can only queu up to enter at your appointed time. Espresso and hot chocolate for all, thanks to the automated machines, and I was acting like an impatient child on a long car trip. "Can we get in line yet?" Poor Dan. He probably told me "no" fifteen times between 2:45 and 3:30. We finally were allowed to get in line, but were redirected to the "other" line which has a ramp, helpful for the stroller. Only the "other" line is intended for groups, so we had to wait for the group to go through first. I'm slow at learning this patience thing. =)

The wait was well worth it. Mouth dropping awe soon ensued - the level of carvings and detailed work were simply inspiring. I wish only that I could have had the place to myself and all the time in the world to sit and take in the designs. I was too cheap to pay the additional 6 euro for the audio tour, so don't have the proper names and histories assigned to the images below. Hope some level of detail of the carvings is captured to light your imagination. The web link referenced to AlHambra provides historial detailing ... sorry, but there's so much information, it's difficult to consolidate it down to a concise overview.

Palace:

Glimpse of detail work inside the palace:

My only disappointment was the Lion Fountain. The lions have been moved into the museum, which is only open until 2:30pm. Only the cup the lions were holding remain in the courtyard. I took a picture of the poster describing the efforts to preserve the lions so you can see what the fountain should look like.

Original fountain:

Lions removed and enclosed for preservation:

Tired family, we chanced a quick peek inside the on site church and headed out for the bus.

Arriving at the bus station, I found the bus schedule posted on the (closed) window of the bus company. We had two choices - either catch the bus in 45-minutes or wait an hour and a half. We were trying to get well needed groceries and jump online at the nearby McDonald's. No such luck. Groceries in tow, we booked it for the bus stop. Only there is no indication that this is where the private line that provides rural service will pick up. We anxiously wait - tired, hungry, hating the lack of information. About 15 minutes late, we welcomed the sight of the small, crowded mini bus that would return us to our unmarked bus stop, just outside the campground.

Learning to just go with the flow... just go with it... don't fight it.

Ciao for now.